Editor’s Note: This article was published in the Valley News on Dec. 5, 2020.
THETFORD — The 41-year-old Thetford official who was put on paid leave last week over concerns he may have posted a threatening comment on a woman’s social media account was running two departments for the town after starting as a part-time employee four years ago, according to town records.
Nathaniel Maxwell in April became the full-time recreation director, and in October was also named acting director of public works, according to the town. He is being paid $67,860 and has multiple responsibilities, including hiring coaching staff for youth sports, overseeing Thetford’s Treasure Island recreation area and handling the department budget, according to his LinkedIn page.
Maxwell was suspended last week after the TikTok username @nathanielmaxwell0, named on the profile as Nathaniel Maxwell, posted what many viewed as a threatening comment against Jessica Luther Rummel, a popular user on the social media site who identifies as Hindu and wears a Bindi.
“I don’t know, but thanks for the target on the forehead. That makes things easier,” the post read.
Rummel shared the comment with her 164,000 followers last week in a video that garnered over a million views.
Within hours, the town, as well as Thetford Academy, where Maxwell had coached a junior varsity team, faced local and national backlash. Some people drew attention to another video posted in June by @nathanielmaxwell0 in which a man who appeared to be Maxwell made crude comments about women and talked about not wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interim Town Manager Tom Yennerell this week said he could not comment on the investigation or answer questions about the process used to hire Maxwell.
“Because this is a sensitive human resources matter with a corresponding active investigation, I am not capable of commenting or answering your questions. I’m very sorry and hope the matter resolves quickly so that I could speak about it,” he said via email earlier this week.
Maxwell was hired in 2016 for a small, part-time recreation position that did not at the time include running Treasure Island, former Selectboard Chairman Stuart Rogers said in an interview on Wednesday. Because of the limited nature of the position, the town did not do a background check on Maxwell and called only the references he listed in his application, Rogers said. Thetford at the time did not have a town manager form of government, and the Selectboard and other volunteers undertook many of the administrative duties.
Maxwell also worked for Thetford Academy in spring 2019, coaching the junior varsity baseball team, but has not worked for the school since, according to Thetford Academy Head of School Carrie Brennan. She said it’s common practice to rehire coaches who have had positive performances for another year, but that the spring 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19, so he was not rehired.
She added that all employees go through an in-house background check for a history in Vermont, and then they go through a national background check conducted by the police department.
Though Rogers said he never heard of any complaints about inappropriate comments by Maxwell during his tenure as a recreation worker, some parents and other coaches raised concerns about Maxwell’s management style, he said. Rogers said that he told those people to make formal complaints with the town, but that he doesn’t know of any being made.
“Most of the coaches (who spoke) had a feeling that his style was a little abrasive,” Rogers said, adding that there had been “conflicts” between Maxwell and other coaches.
Maxwell could not be reached for comment this week. He previously wrote a post, which has since been deleted, on the town’s Treasure Island Facebook page, in which he denied making the offensive comment and video.
Maxwell has not been charged with any crime, and a public records request to the Thetford Police Department revealed no prior complaints or criminal issues.
Bruce James, the northeastern and central Vermont assigner for high school games, who has worked with Maxwell as an umpire, said Maxwell “knows the rules, is fair and does a good job.”
Maxwell, who earned a bachelor’s degree in sports studies from Southern New Hampshire University in 2020, umpired in at least five Vermont Cal Ripken championships and in 2017, was part of the 11U officiating team for the Cal Ripken regional championship tournament in Waterville, Maine.
“On the field as an umpire he handles situations and sometimes they’re not friendly situations,” James said, adding that despite the nature of the job, he hasn’t seen Maxwell act too aggressively. “The Nathan Maxwell that I know — this situation I’m reading about is uncharacteristic,” he said.
Regardless of Maxwell’s past performance, the situation raises new questions about social media use and accountability online.
Paul Argenti, a professor of corporate communications at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, said the issue of employees facing scrutiny for their online posts has grown with the advent of social media. Many employers now check a prospective hire’s social media posts before offering them a job, he said.
“Anything you post is a reflection of you — not just in your personal life, but your professional life, too,” he said, adding that many employers wouldn’t want to be associated with an employee who posts insensitive or offensive content. “It tells you a lot about a person — that they’re willing to say this at all rather than just acting like that behind the scenes.”
He said that while some may argue free speech should protect employees who post on personal accounts, that doesn’t necessarily protect someone from repercussions at work.
“Your right to say stuff is limited by the way it affects other people,” Argenti said. “No one wants to employ someone who’s not sensitive to the needs of society.”
Rummel, a Ph.D. candidate studying philosophy and religion at the University of North Texas, said she didn’t post the video in order to get Maxwell fired, but that she wanted to highlight a potential aggressive streak in a town employee, especially one who works with children.
“I don’t expose every person who speaks to me that way, but he was unique because I saw his role in the community,” Rummel said in an interview this week. “You have someone in such an influential position and has access to children; there are teenagers who are going to be looking up to him.”
Brennan, the Thetford Academy head of school, made clear that she doesn’t agree with the comment and video allegedly posted by Maxwell, but said she finds it “fascinating” that someone’s social media post one day could affect their employment the next, and called social media “a playing field in the culture wars.”
“It’s a weapon people can use to expose — in their minds — things that need to be exposed,” Brennan said
She added that she had only received one local call from a community member, and said most people who complained about the video and comment are “far removed from the community.”
Yennerell said in an email Thursday that the town has not made a decision on Maxwell’s employment.
Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.